orchidgal

I have never used the Calvados with the French Apple Tart, as I am not about to buy a liquor for just one recipe. Instead, I have just used the rum as suggested and it is wonderful.

So sorry to hear about your friend's terrible losses. So much heartbreak in such a short length of time! I would not add the cinnamon to the sugar, as there is so much going on between the liquor and the jam on the tart already. I am a self-avowed cinnamon nut, but I would never think of adding it to the tart. And just be there for your friend. That is what she will really need right now.

The marshmallows are easy to make, but don't just rely on powder sugar to coax them out of the pan as Ina suggests. I use parchment paper and vegetable spray, and even then they are a bear to remove from the wrapping. The first time I followed Ina's suggestions to the letter and I ended up cursing a blue streak as it took forever to get the marshmallows out of the pan and it was a huge mess. Also, don't be put off from making these if you don't have a stand mixer; we don't and while it is tiresome, it is doable with a hand-held mixer. Once you have had homemade marshmallows, you will wonder why you ever put up with those chemical-laden pillows they sell at the stores.

I too have made many of Ina's recipes with some degree of success*. *If Ina claims that a recipe is for two people, I halve it and it is still plenty for four people. I adjust the amount of salt downward, even though I now use Diamond Salt (I suspect Ina just likes salty food). And lastly, I though I like all things lemon, I drastically cut the amount of lemon in any Ina recipe just as a matter of course. At that point, I usually find it to be about right. That being said, Her marshmallow recipe really is great, as is her French Apple Tart recipe** **Disclaimer: I take a short cut and use a frozen puff pastry sheet. I also use a locally made F.R.O.G. (Fig, Raspberry, Orange, and Ginger) preserve instead of the apricot preserve that Ina suggests in the recipe. Everyone who has tried it has raved about it.

We had a party at our house this past weekend and my daughter insisted that we have Ina's HVPD with mixed berries for the dessert. As it turned out, I had been working on redoing her bathroom that week as well as getting ready for the party, so I delegated the job of making the dreaded Honey Vanilla Pound cake of Doom to my dearest daughter. She is actually the baker in the family, so I felt comfortable in doing so. She did have some fits with the pound cake, as it was far too wiggly at the minimum time, and yet not quite done, but looked dark at the maximum time. I advised her to take it out then, knowing it would set up. She did a good job and now understands why we call it the HVPD.

I'd go to Ina's restaurant! I can even see the place in my mind: warm woods, soft whites, and white and green flowers. Black and white photos or clean contemporary paintings adorn the walls, likely propped up on rails mounted on the walls. A large fireplace would crackle merrily on one wall, and large windows would overlook a beautiful garden filled with hydrangeas, tulips, herbs. Guests could eat out on the stone patio in warmer weather.* Unpretentious, just like Ina. *Do you think I can get a percentage for helping Ina design her "restaurant?"

I'd go with Ina on this and set my food thermometer for 140 degrees. While resting, under foil, the pork continues to "cook," and the temperature will rise to 145 or more. I have used Ina's method of cooking pork for years, and it always results in a moist and tender roast that is safe to eat, as any harmful organisms are killed at 138 degrees F. Edited, because spaces after commas are important.

Lura, you are welcome for the recipe. I use Honeycrisp apples, but they can be difficult to find except in the fall. They are a great apple for eating raw, and they also hold up well for cooking. An added bonus is that they store really well, so they keep for months.

My grandmother used to make apple butter in the fall in a huge kettle over a fire years ago on their farm. My mother, who was a city girl from Chicago, talked about how much work it was to peel the apples, and then to stand there all day and stir the apples so they didn't burn as they cooked. My recipe for apple butter is much easier, as it cooks in a slow cooker, so I can just leave it alone all day while it does its thing. Then I can the apple butter so that we can enjoy it all season long. By the way, apple butter is simply apple sauce that continues to cook and darken and concentrate in flavor. I also have an apple peeler/corer/slicer that makes short work of prepping the apples. My best guess for why canning is called putting up, is that once you have canned your food, you put the canned goods up on the shelves in your pantry. For those who asked for my recipe, here it is: Slow Cooker Apple Butter 4 pounds cooking apples, peeled and sliced (I like to use Honeycrisp apples) 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 3 cups sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg Place sliced apple and vinegar in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cook, covered, at HIGH 6 hours. Stir in sugars and nutmeg. Reduce setting to LOW; cook, covered, 4 hours. Cool. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week. Yield: 6 cups

Food Network: It's not about the food anyway*. *Not that it ever was. It always was about the money, honey. We are just being a bit more bold and brassy about that fact now.

That happened as soon as FN seemed to resort to Central Casting to get their contestants for this and every other contestant show on FN lately. TPTB actually seem to have a formula that they subscribe to when casting these contestants; the hipster, the stay-at-home mom/dad, the restauranteur, the over-the-top character, the down-home persona, the vapid beauty queen-type, the ethnic cook, the person who has recently lost a ton of weight, etc, etc, etc. To the point that the contestants themselves begin to seem like re-runs of past seasons. This show stopped being about the cooking several seasons ago. Now the show is all about the show.

I am loving reading about the home canning here. I regularly can my super-secret BBQ sauce, as well as my apple butter. Everyone loves those recipes, and I am hoping to one day sell the BBQ sauce recipes (there are three versions). The apple butter recipe is super simple and I gladly share that with anyone. I am surprised by how many people who have never had apple butter before. But then, my great-grandmother was Amish, so I grew up with such foods.

Glad to hear that I wasn't the only one who had absolutely NO trouble at all understanding Aryen. Yes, FN had decided who they wanted to send home, so they had to come up with some lame-ass reason to do so. Now if I could just forget I ever wasted my time watching this stupid episode. Is there a 12-step course for addictions to ridiculous reality shows?

Sounds like I picked a good night to watch the premier episode of another show on another channel tonight. And after reading the comments here, it sounds like I can save myself the time and headache of watching this clusterfuck later on in the week. Sadly, I too remember when the challenges used to actually pertain to skills needed for a Food Network Star and their Food Network cooking show. Now, the challenges are just there for the sake of perpetuating this sorry excuse of a program and to make for an "interesting" show. FN doesn't care if the winner actually succeeds with their little prize. If they do, that's just icing on the cake. This show is the real bread-winner for FN.

Oh goodness, how could we have forgotten about Harry Covair and Mars Capone, the lesser known brother of Al Capone?